Enthused by the decent returns from chilli crop last year, K. Koteswara Rao has raised it in 20 acres in Inkollu village hoping for a remunerative price for his produce this year too. And so did the fellow farmers in the village who have taken up cultivation of the spice crop in a big way. Now they rue their fate as cyclonic storm Gulab has left the fields waterlogged.
“Productivity will be severely hit,” fears Mr. Rao. His desperate efforts to save the tender chilli plants by removing excess water from the flooded field turned futile as fresh rains left his farm in a sheet of water.
The storm has affected tens of hundreds of farmers in Parchur, Martur, Addanki, Markapur and other mandals in the district who have taken up cultivation of ‘red gold’ in over 30,530 hectares as against the normal acreage of 27,152.
The legume crops, including red gram, green gram and black gram, taken up under the Nagarjuna Sagar Right Bank Canal command area have also been adversely affected because of the seepage of water from the canals carrying the Krishna water to the fields, says Samyukta Kisan Morcha Prakasam district convener Ch. Ranga Rao.
Cotton ryots to benefit
However, the overall agricultural scenario has been encouraging for other sections of farmers as the sharp showers induced by the cyclone have helped reduce the rainfall deficit in the drought-prone district, according to agriculture department officials.
It has been beneficial to standing crops, including cotton, cultivated extensively in the district.
There will be no problem in meeting the crop coverage target of 2.15 lakh hectares for the season by completing transplantation of water-consuming paddy and other crops, according to Agriculture Joint Director S. Srinivasa Rao. The crop coverage has been 1.70 lakh hectares so far, 101% of the normal sown area during the period last year.
The district has so far received 354.5 mm during the southwest monsoon as against the normal rainfall of 365.9 mm, including 23.3 mm in the fag end of September, and is still left with 3.1% deficit.
Those who missed red gram cultivation because of dry spell can now go for black gram or Bengal gram in the wake of Gulab-induced showers, the Joint Director says in a conversation with The Hindu.
The acreage under cotton is only 85% of the normal sown area of over 33,000 hectares this year. Paddy transplantation is now going on in full swing under the Nagarjuna Sagar Right Bank canal command area. The paddy crop coverage can be expected to be in excess of the normal sown area of 26,650 hectares. Transplantation has been completed already in 18,224 hectares as against a little less than 14,000 hectares during last year, according to a report compiled by the department.